Value of changing fork oil/rebuilding forks. 2015. 17k miles

[blind squirrel]

Preload with progressive is a guess, at 1 line out not bad. Play less with the dials, it seems you don't know where you're at. You have to set it to something reasonable first, then should only tweak after that one click here or there. Twisty rider, rear shock 5 or 6 clicks out. Fork compression, 6-8 your preference, Rebound 7-8-9. Tendency is to overdamp, right thing is least amount of damping that gets the job done.

I'm on the dials constantly and always have a hard time finding the sweet spot while riding in the twisties. I did have my preload almost all the way in for a while to decrease sag, but recently backed it out to about a line or so. Maybe I'll back it out a bit more and take your suggestions, raYzerman, and try retuning from scratch.

Preload with progressive is a guess, at 1 line out not bad. Play less with the dials, it seems you don't know where you're at. You have to set it to something reasonable first, then should only tweak after that one click here or there. Twisty rider, rear shock 5 or 6 clicks out. Fork compression, 6-8 your preference, Rebound 7-8-9

Use the fricken edit button, whydoncha?

Ray is really trying to push the point or just can't get enough of himself!

[raYzerman]

With the current oil, you need more damping not less. 11 is near the standard settings, relatively little. If you've got "thin" oil in your head, you would need more damping not less. 8 clicks is a starting point where there is some real damping happening. Your rear shock needs more to compensate for the compromise thing that it is, but the spring is good for your weight. I weigh 200, but trying to guess what 170 would need. My rear rebound needed 6 clicks for me, you should be 7-8 at most. Front should be compression 7-8, rebound 8. Should be good for most of your riding. In twisties you would either leave it there or put compression to 6. If you're riding bumpy roads, if too harsh a ride, more clicks on compression, leave rebound alone. Heavier oil mostly is going to just bump up the number of clicks by 1, unless you went 10W then by 2 or 3, you're just shifting the whole set. For your weight, I wouldn't go 10W, stay more like a true 5 or 7/7.5.

[Festus]

Touching on the point Ray just made about a "true 5", just for reference, when we rebuilt the shocks for Jolene, I looked up a fork oil chart and it was showing Yamaha 5W as actually being 3.2W. If you wanted a true 5, BelRay's 5W was about 5W. I only mention that as reference. Look up a fork oil chart before changing any oil to be sure what you are doing is going to accomplish what you want. Ray and Bill setup my suspension 2 years ago and I've always been quite happy with it.

[Hppants]

In the other sandbox, someone had posted a chart that described the actual viscosity and other characteristics of about 2 dozen fork oils. All I remember from that chart was that the Yamaha fork oil was more like 3 wt than the 5 wt it claimed. And the Honda Showa 5 wt was more like actual 5 wt. That's why I picked it - I was thinking just a LITTLE thicker oil might make the dampening more compliant. And for me anyway, it was.

[FJRoss]

TONS of information and the chart 'Pants described in the following link:

http://www.peterverdone.com/wiki/index. ... sion_Fluid



And another chart:

[BruinFJRguy]

Ah, yes. I actually have been as tight as 7 comp on the front. I wondered what was up to make me need it that much tighter, but thinner oil made sense. I don't think I adjusted the rear rebound to compensate and that probably had things all thrown off and explains why I still wasn't happy. I do think I'll likely try the bump to 7 weight oil when I change it. That chart is helpful.

[blind squirrel]

Don't some people run ATF? What weight is that supposed to run?

[raYzerman]

I wouldn't run ATF, it's supposed to make tranny clutches work, while we want slippy as possible. 7W is a good choice.

[bill lumberg]

I'm at 72,000 with original fork oil. I've done everything else that was indicated for maintenance. Not sure if I'll change it now, with only about 30,000 miles left before I hit warranty end and trade for a newer model.

[FJRoss]

I'm at 72,000 with original fork oil. I've done everything else that was indicated for maintenance. Not sure if I'll change it now, with only about 30,000 miles left before I hit warranty end and trade for a newer model.

Changing the fork oil isn't a big deal. At that mileage, I can assure you that it is pretty disgusting!

[raYzerman]

Bill at that mileage, for a few bucks more, have the bushings and seals replaced also. You'll have some wear on those bushings.

[Festus]

I think it was about $70 in parts for the rebuild plus the fork oil, so it's not very expensive.

[Hppants]

Ross - thanks for cross posting that chart. As I look closer at it, it would appear that I'm smoking unicorn fairy dust.

Unless I'm reading it wrong, the Yamaha fork oil is EXACTLY the same viscosity as the Honda Showa 5 wt. I can't deny my butt dyno, though. Maybe the newness of the oil is what made the difference. I'm about 12,000 miles post - fork oil change and, at least in my mind, it still feels better than the OEM.

[wheatonFJR]

Ross - thanks for cross posting that chart. As I look closer at it, it would appear that I'm smoking unicorn fairy dust...

It seems that you wouldn't be the only one doing that...as Ray and Festus were saying the same thing. (without the smoking unicorn fairy dust part)

[fontanaman]

I'm at 72,000 with original fork oil. I've done everything else that was indicated for maintenance. Not sure if I'll change it now, with only about 30,000 miles left before I hit warranty end and trade for a newer model.

Changing the fork oil isn't a big deal. At that mileage, I can assure you that it is pretty disgusting!

+1 to FJRoss. The smell of that fork will be very obnoxious. Almost as obnoxious as [insert forum member name of your choice!] If a shop does it they have a extra charge for disposal and reeking out the shop for the day.

[raYzerman]

Most fork oil stinks right out of the new container. Does aluminum oxide make it stink worse? Who knows...

[BruinFJRguy]

OK, today is the day!

I bought 3 liters of Motul Expert 5W yesterday. It was one of several choices available at Chaparral and seemed like the best of the options. I also toyed with Bel Ray 5w, or Bel Ray 7w. But the Bel Ray 7w has a 40c cSt of about 30, which seemed high. The Motul 5w is apparently just a bit thicker than the Bel Rey 5w. I realize 3L is more than I need, but it gives me a little extra to rinse the guts etc.

I decided that the Motul 5W was a sufficient enough increase in viscosity over factory weight to try. According to the chart the cSt is 6 at 100c and 20 at 40c; whatever that means really I'm not sure, but the factory appears to be around 3.5 and 14.5 if I remember without checking again.

Having read that John and some others tried heavier weights and found it harsh, I decided to make only a marginal jump in viscosity out of the gate. I'm "only" 180 lbs dressed an 10-20 more geared up, so I figure this weight is a good estimate.

I don't have a manual. I'm going to look around for the required oil height for a 2015 A and for the fork torque specs, but if anyone has that info handy I would greatly appreciate it!

Thanks to all for the suggestions and the advice! The front forks at 22k miles have become either very pogo-ey or too stiff; it is virtually impossible to find a happy medium. Hopefully this fluid change will help!

[BruinFJRguy]

Ok, surprisingly the oil isn't as rank as expected.
But it is dirty and has a metallic swirl and shavings. I have no idea how viscous it it; it is definitely more viscous than water. Not sure if I can tell the difference between this and fresh oil, though.

Anyhow, I'm doing it the easy way; not tearing totally apart, rinsing with fresh, and putting in what I took out. Hopefully I am successful.

[BruinFJRguy]

Ok, turns out the Motul is WAY more rank out of the bottle than the factory is after 3 years of use!

And I change my earlier statement. The Motul 5w is most certainly more viscous than the used factory oil. I can tell just by how much slower it drains when rinsing out the tubes with a few CCs.

[bigjohnsd]

Flush with Mineral Spirits, work the forks several times to get the old crud our, rinse and repeat, hang upside down to drain for 30 minutes, then refill with new oil

Couldn't find 15 Specs but did find these GEN3 "A" specs:

716 cc (24.21 US oz) on the left fork, 694cc (23.46 US oz) on the right fork
106mm oil level on the left fork and 90mm oil level on the right fork